When they came home the hay was dry as ever. They had cheated providence by trusting it, and suffered no loss; they had gained by it. And then Sivert flung out an arm, and said: "Ho! Mother's been haymaking!" Isak looked down over the fields and said "H'm." Isak had noticed already that some of the hay had been shifted; Inger ought to be home now for her midday meal. It was well done indeed of her to get in the hay, after he had scolded her the day before and said "Huttch!" And it was no light hay to move; she must have worked hard, and all the cows and goats to milk besides…. "Go in and get something to eat," he said to Sivert.
"Aren't you coming, then?"
"No."
A little while after, Inger came out and stood humbly on the door-slab and said:
"If you'd think of yourself a little—and come in and have a bite to eat."
Isak grumbled at that and said "H'm." But it was so strange a thing of late for Inger to be humble in any way, that his stubbornness was shaken.
"If you could manage to set a couple of teeth in my rake, I could get on again with the hay," said she. Ay, she came to her husband, the master of the place, to ask for something, and was grateful that he did not turn scornfully away.
"You've worked enough," said he, "raking and carting and all."
"No, 'tis not enough."
"I've no time, anyway, to mend rakes now. You can see there's rain coming soon."